“During one of my last jumps,” Claire explains, “he saw me and approached me. Said he’d seen me all the times I came to visit and scolded me for thinking that I was being stealthy.” She chuckles. “He made me promise that I’d give that to you the next time I saw you. I tried to tell him I didn’t know what he was talking about, but he didn’t buy it. He’s a clever one, that man.”

“That’s what makes him a good journalist,” I mutter, transfixed by the letter.

“Would you like me to leave you alone so you can read it?” she asks gently.

I hesitate before answering, thinking over the options. Eventually, I shake my head and tape the envelope, carefully, back where it was before.

Claire smiles brightly. She leans forward, pressing a kiss to my cheek, and stands.

“How about we join the party, hmm? Blake will probably come looking for you again if I keep you away from him for too long.”

“I agree. Sounds amazing.”

I stand, putting the book on the couch. There will be time for that. Time to examine every photo, remember the past, and imagine his future. But for now, I’m going to look forward. Focus on my future. It’s what he would have wanted.

And it’s what I want.

Dear Andre,

I’ve started this letter three times, three different ways, so I think I’ll just stick with the simple version. Hi.

I hope this reaches you. I hope you’re doing well, but most importantly, I hope you’ve kept your promise of moving on from me and living your best life.

Here’s the truth, Dre: it hurt when you left—real bad. But you were right. I loved what we had, but we both had to live our own lives. I hope you can say the same.

I know you’re wondering, so here’s the short version: I’m okay. I’m living. Hell, I live a great life. I toured the world. I met a great guy. I’ve had so many amazing jobs. I found a family. I found someone to love.

I hope you did too. I’ll always love you. Always. But, and here’s the karmic kicker, we’re separated by time and space. We met each other at the wrong time in our lives. And that’s okay. Because, despite that, we still got to spend time together. Still got to be together.

And I’m so happy, so honored that I got to meet you. But now it’s time for you to live your life, to be happy, to do something great, to tell your own story—another story—without me.

And as someone who loves you, who has always loved you and will always love you, I want that for you more than anything.